Chuck Long's road to San Diego State has been paved by success. In 25 years
as both a player and coach on the collegiate and professional levels, he has
built a resume that most can only dream of.

As a collegian at
Iowa, he was the runner-up for the 1985 Heisman Trophy, throwing for over 10,000
career yards, winning the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien Awards and leading his team
to a Big Ten title and an appearance in the Rose Bowl. As a professional in the
NFL, he was a first-round draft pick and spent eight seasons with the Detroit
Lions and Los Angeles Rams.

As a coach, he won a national
championship, logged five top-six finishes and made nine appearances in bowl
games in 11 seasons as a collegiate assistant.

Long added to that already impressive list in December 2005 when
he was named the 16th head coach in San Diego State football history and charged
with returning the program to the national spotlight.

But if anyone
is up for the task, it's Chuck Long, for whom success has become second nature.

Coaching Experience
- Hired as the 16th head football coach in San Diego State history on December
17, 2005.

- Has a national championship ring, five top-six
finishes in the national polls and nine appearances in bowl games as products of
an impressive 11 seasons as a collegiate assistant coach.

- Worked
on the staffs of College Football Hall of Fame member Hayden Fry and national
coach of the year Kirk Ferentz at Iowa, as well as two-time national coach of
the year Bob Stoops at Oklahoma.

- Spent six seasons at Oklahoma, with the final four as the
offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Was an integral part of the
Sooners' success, helping guide Oklahoma to a 67-11 record since 2000 and berths
in six consecutive bowl games.

- Since he arrived in Norman in December of 1999, the Sooners won
a national title (2000), three Big 12 championships (2000, 2002, 2004) and four
Big 12 South Division titles (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004).

- Coached three
Oklahoma players who finished in the top three of the Heisman balloting,
including 2003 Heisman recipient quarterback Jason White.

- As a member of the Sooner staff, his players won a Heisman
Trophy, Maxwell Memorial Award (college player of the year), Walter Camp Trophy
(college player of the year), two Davey O'Brien Awards (outstanding
quarterback), Outland Trophy (outstanding interior lineman), Unitas Award
(outstanding senior quarterback), two Associated Press Player of the Year
awards, two The Sporting News Player of the Year honors and a CBS Player of the
Year accolade.

- Coached four NFL first-round draft picks,
including three at Oklahoma and one at Iowa.

- Played a major role
in the Sooners' and Hawkeyes' recruiting efforts, including the state of
California.

- A
2004 finalist for the Broyles Award for the nation's top assistant coach.
Oklahoma completed an undefeated regular season and played for the national
championship.

- The 2004 Oklahoma offense produced the first
player tandem in NCAA history to post 35 touchdowns passing and 1,800 yards
rushing (Jason White and Adrian Peterson).

- The 2004 Oklahoma
offense produced the first player tandem in NCAA history to post 35 touchdowns
passing and 1,800 yards rushing (Jason White and Adrian Peterson).

- As Oklahoma's offensive coordinator, the Sooners set a Big 12
Conference record by averaging 51.5 points per game and ranked
third nationally in scoring offense in 2003.

- Oklahoma posted back-to-back 12-2 campaigns in 2002 and
2003, highlighted by Jason White's Heisman Trophy and a 34-14
victory over Washington State in the 2003 Rose Bowl.

-In 2001, Sooner quarterbacks completed more than 60 percent
of their passes for the third straight season (all under Long)
and the passing offense ranked second in the Big 12 Conference
for the second consecutive year.

- Hired in December of 1999, as the passing game coordinator
and quarterbacks coach on Bob Stoops' staff at Oklahoma.

-Joined the Sooner staff in time for the 1999 Independence
Bowl, and a year later, helped direct Oklahoma to the 2000
national championship with a perfect 13-0 record.

-Long coached All-American and Heisman Trophy runner-up QB
Josh Heupel in 2000, the same year OU led the nation in
completion percentage (64.2 percent).

-Coaching career began at his alma mater, when he was hired
by his former college coach Hayden Fry as a secondary and
special teams coach in 1995.

-Iowa led the nation in interceptions returned for touchdowns
(four) in 1995, while the 1997 squad led the Big Ten in
interceptions (22).

- Switched to the offensive side of the ball in 1998,
becoming the first quarterbacks coach in Fry's 20-year tenure at
Iowa.

- The Hawkeyes advanced to bowl games in each of his first
three campaigns and were ranked in the final top 25 poll in both
1995 and 1996.

- Remained on the Hawkeye staff as quarterbacks and special
teams coach through the transition from Fry to Kirk Ferentz in
1999.

Playing Experience

-Starting quarterback on the 1979 Wheaton North
High School team that claimed a state title.
Garnered all-state honors in 1980 and was named
to the all-state championship squad in 1979.

-Three-sport standout at Wheaton North in
football, basketball and baseball.

- A four-year starter and consensus
All-America quarterback at the University of
Iowa from 1981-85.

- Guided Iowa to bowl games in each of his
seasons as a starter, including a Rose Bowl
berth in 1986.

-Led the Hawkeyes to the 1985 Big Ten
championship and was a member of the 1981
conference-winning squad.

- Became the first player in Big Ten history
to surpass 10,000 yards passing and still holds
Hawkeye career records for passing yards
(10,461), touchdowns (74) and completion
percentage (65.0).

- As a senior in 1985, led Iowa to a No. 1
national ranking and in so doing, earned the
Maxwell and Davey O'Brien Awards. Was the Big
Ten Male Athlete and football player of the
year.

-Runner-up to Auburn's Bo Jackson for the
Heisman Trophy in the closest finish in the
history of the award in 1985.

- Inducted into the Iowa Hall of Fame in 1996
and the National Collegiate Hall of Fame in
1999.

- Taken with the 12th pick of the first round
of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. One
of Iowa's three first-round selections.

- Played professionally for the Detroit Lions
and the Los Angeles Rams from 1986 through 1994,
logging eight seasons in the NFL.

Chuck Long Notebook

GETTING STARTED
Breaking into the coaching ranks is never easy, not even for one
of the games' top players. It takes a little help from your
friends and Long had two people instrumental in landing his
first job in the business. Legendary Iowa football coach Hayden
Fry, whom Long played for, was willing to bring his star pupil
back to Iowa City in the summer of 1995, but there was one
problem. The position open was coaching the
defensive secondary. To say that some on the Hawkeye staff were
less than thrilled to have a former quarterback with no coaching
experience, least of all instructing players on the `other' side
of the ball, was an understatement. Enter current Aztec
assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Bob Elliott.
Elliott had just stepped down from Fry's staff and accepted a
position as the director of the alumni association to
concentrate on fighting cancer. Elliott placed a call to Fry and
told him if he wanted Long for the job, he would work with the
protégé to teach him secondary technique. Five days a week that
summer the defensive wizard worked with Long teaching him proper
technique. "It wasn't that hard," Elliott said. "Obviously, he
already has a great defensive mind from years of having to read
defenses as a quarterback. He was a very quick study." Long
coached the Iowa secondary for three seasons before moving to
quarterbacks coach in 1998. In his three seasons in the
secondary, Iowa posted a 24-12 record and advanced to a bowl
game all three years.

PUTTING THE SPECIAL IN TEAMS
Make no mistake, special teams will be a priority under Chuck
Long. Long, who appointed Toby Neinas as special teams'
coordinator, will be in every special teams meeting. "You can
win or lose a game on special teams and most upsets occur
because the underdog has benefited greatly in this area." Taking
it one step further, Long will make all of the special team
calls. "I have already told the staff, that fourth down is my
down."

VISITING THE HIGH SCHOOLS
It took less than half a year for a member of the new Aztec
coaching staff to personally visit all 68 high schools in San
Diego County. "Recruiting this city and this county is a
priority for our staff," Long said. "There is tremendous talent
in this area and our goal is to build a fence around Southern
California and keep the home-grown talent here." One again this
past season Long made an appearance at every high school and
junior college in the county.

THE NUMBER ONE FAN
It didn't take Chuck Long to become a regular at San Diego State
sporting events. The coach was a fixture at Cox Arena watching
the men's and women's basketball teams.

Later in the spring, Long could be seen watching the MWC
championship softball squad and Tony Gwynn's baseball team as
well as other Aztec sports.

"One sport can create momentum for another sport on campus,"
Long said. "I put up a picture on the bulletin board of the
men's basketball team winning the conference championship.
Whenever you have a winning example on campus you want to use
that so they see what it feels like and looks like to win. Our
players walk around campus and see how winning energizes the
community."

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE RING
Prior to the press conference to announce his hiring, Chuck Long
met with the Aztec team for the first time. He opened that
encounter by passing his 2000 national championship ring around
the room. "I was showing them what you get when you win," Long
said. "They passed it around, touched it and tried it on. I said
that everything we do from now on is it to try and get one of
these for you. I want them to have a great experience and
winning is part of that."

GIVING BACK
Chuck Long has always believed in giving back to the community.
It's a philosophy that began close to home. "My brother has
cerebral palsy and so I have always been heavily involved in
Special Olympics wherever I have been." Once again this year
Long and several of his players volunteered for the Special
Olympics. In addition to speaking at the opening ceremonies held
on the SDSU campus, the Aztec head coach also served as an
official for several events. "It is important to me that our
student-athletes are great members of the community when they
leave San Diego State. One area where we concentrate our efforts
is in community service and that starts with the coaching staff
setting the example. Our team looks forward to these events." In
addition, the coach still lends his name and celebrity to the
Chuck Long Charity Auction to benefit the Children's Therapy
Center of the Quad Cities. Despite having left the state, Long
still returns to the Iowa-Illinois border every March to host an
auction to benefit the charity. Long's wife serves on the board
for a center that helps abused family members in Oklahoma. The
couple plan to expand their roles in San Diego area charities as
time goes on.